Battery life of a device may be influenced by a number of factors. These factors may be, for example, operating or storage temperature, charging behavior, a number of charge cycles and time between charge cycles. Furthermore, optimal charging, use and storage patterns are different based on the type of battery technology that is used. However, generally battery life decreases with each charge cycle (due to chemical processes taking place inside the battery) until the battery has reached the end of its usable life. In addition, certain batteries suffer irreparable damage from getting over- or undercharged.
Mobile devices, for example navigation systems, are typically plugged into a DC voltage source (e.g., a cigarette lighter adapter) and charge the battery while connected and until the mobile device reaches a full charge. This strategy may be a best effort to always provide an end-user with a (somewhat) charged device. However, the strategy may decrease the overall life of the battery and thereby the usable life of the device.
Older battery technologies such NiCd or NiMH require regular (full) charge and/or discharge cycles to ensure good battery life. This requires a user to keep track of battery charge levels. With the advent of newer battery technologies, some drawbacks were resolved. However, newer battery technologies are still susceptible to charging and storage patterns.
A mobile device may include but is not limited to, for example, a portable navigation device (PND) that includes GPS (Global Positioning System) signal reception and processing functionality that are well known and are widely employed as automobile or other vehicle navigation systems. Such devices are of great utility when the user is not familiar with the route to the destination to which they are navigating.
Other mobile devices may include but are not limited to, for example, a portable music or video player. Although several examples of mobile devices are listed in this disclosure, the disclosure is not limited to those mobile devices listed and indeed applies to many mobile devices.